


Three Days and a Half

by sunflower--killingmoon (Guichelove)



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adult Rin, F/M, Historical, Inuvember, Out of Character, Sex, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:11:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8519785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guichelove/pseuds/sunflower--killingmoon
Summary: In the heat of pre-Napoleonic Empire times, a farmer makes a deal with Italian businessmen to marry their sons with his daughter Rin and her cousin to save the family’s economy. While traveling towards Italy, an accident takes place and the two ladies are saved by Gypsies and brought to their camp. There, Rin meets a skillful and seductive dancer, Sesshomaru, who was her savior, and falls instantly in love with him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of this fic while in my half- aunt's birthday party. It was latino music themed, and many of the songs they played also had a gypsy imagery and vibe. I took the time to research the history aspects of the Roma people, as they are called, and found out many cool things, as well as sad things about their path in the world since hundreds of years ago… I know their current situation is out of my reach and understanding. As I don’t live anywhere near them I will never have a full idea of what it is like to share the same ground as them. This is only a work of fiction and will probably have a stereotyped and fantasized take on the gypsy culture and people. I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I had writing it.

A fat _charolai_ cow mooed loudly to the new day that had begun.  The farm worker was always the first one to get up, rushing to milk the animal, before he could free her calf and let mother and baby be together. He rushed with two full buckets of the white liquid and delivered it to the cook. They had to be boiled and prepared to be consumed. Poured in delicate pieces of porcelain, the housekeeper placed three  full cups on their respective saucers in the tray. The skirt of her uniform was low, and she was rather obese, which made it even more difficult to climb those small treacherous steps. It was sharp seven. The other maids, subordinated to the main housekeeper, were passing through, carrying luggage downstairs and outside the home. The older woman entered the first bedroom and laid her tray on the side table.

   “Rin, time to wake up, little girl”, she called, opening the curtains all at once, exposing the blinding light of another cloudy sky. The gray ceiling shone annoyingly, and late teenager moaned in discomfort. “It’s a big day, today. Everything is ready. It’s only you, Salome, and Rainier left to get going. The _cocher_ is already waiting”.

   Rin responded by another moan, this time sounding more like a cry. She also put her pillow upon her head. “But I don’t want to go! It isn’t fair!”

   “I can’t hear you with your head covered”, the housekeeper and governess responded, holding her cup of milk, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Come, drink your milk while it is still warm”.

   “Marie-Elise…”, Rin obeyed and sat up. Her night clothing was only a plain simple white dress. Her long and blackest of the black hairs was contained by a snood. “Why doesn’t only my cousin Salome goes to Italy and marry a businessman? She is twenty and old enough to get married, but I am not! I barely completed my eighteenth anniversary!”

   Marie-Elise forced Rin into drinking her milk once again, so she could stop complaining. “Orders are orders, and your father wants it that way. France is not a good place to live and prosper anymore, with all the political turmoil that has been going on”. The old woman traced Rin’s face line with her hand. “You are beautiful and young. It is the right time to get you married”.

   “I am afraid”, confessed Rin, giving her cup back empty. She held her knees and shed a tear. “What if I don’t like my future husband? What if I don’t feel desire for him? I have never felt it for anyone, ever. Salome told me how she felt when she fell in love for the first time and it seemed so magical… Also so out of my reach…”

   Marie-Elise got up nervous, cursing inaudibly. “Don’t believe in everything your cousin says! You will find love and desire once you are united with your husband. Now, get dressed! Your outfit is right there, hanging alone in your closet. And don’t forget the hoop underskirt, to sustain the form!”

   “Yes, ma’am”, Rin sighed, saddened.

   Salome was up and getting dressed when the governess entered in her room. In opposition of her younger cousin, she was very excited about the trip and feeling her time to get married was running out. Her hair was gray blonde and she did herself some braids and did them up, while Rin preferred having her hair combed and straightened, going down until the end of her back. Both ladies' dresses were made by the same tailor, so they were made similarly. Rin’s was sage green and Salome’s lilac purple. Rainier, Salome’s younger brother, was twelve years old. He was running around the house, wearing only his undergarments, with his breeches on his head, riding a hobby horse, screaming:

“I am an American Indian! Boowoowoowoowoo!”.

“No, you are not. You are a gentleman. Come drink your milk and put your pants the right way”, reprehended Marie-Elise.

The young boy’s suit was just as expensive as the ladies' clothing. The waistcoat was dark brown and he had his thin light brown hair tied with a black ribbon, in a ponytail. It was nine and something when the three travelers were finally in order to go. Salome said a little prayer, almost whispering, and then waved her hand, saying goodbye to that house.

“No more smelling mud and feces after a walk in the yard, no more distance from me and city people. I won’t miss this place, ever”, she sighed then and entered the carriage. Rainier wanted to sit  by her side, but she didn’t let him.  “Move, brother. I don’t want you to sit on my dress, it is new!”

Rin grabbed him by the shoulders, preventing the siblings from pushing one another, in a silly fight like that.

“Sit near me, then. I don’t care if you ruin mine”, she said. The boy accepted but still stuck his tongue out to Salome.

The governess scolded him once more, and then the _cocher_ appeared before the door. He was in his late forties, but his teeth were worse than Marie-Elise’s, and his hair was as white as hers. He presented himself:

“Greetings, ladies, and child. I am Leandre, and I was hired by your family to take you three to Italy. As you are aware, we live in a place with many mountains, the Alps, so we have limited routes. We should go soon to our first stop. I have already discussed our terms of staying in the city. Your parents have given me some paper bills to pay the hosts, so everything should be fine. It will take no longer than four days and nights to reach your destiny. Any questions?”

“Four days? I don’t think I can take that much!”, Rainier was already predicting the level of his boredom.

“We must be strong, it will all pay off in the end, my people”, believed Salome.

Rin wasn’t paying attention. She was looking to the other side, feeling terribly sad and irresponsive. Salome noticed that early on. Rin always stared at the sight of the window, as the coach performed its first travel hours. It was a very shaky road, and Leandre worked hard to deviate from loose boulders and other obstacles, guiding professionally the two horses that pulled the large car, heavy with luggage, and three passengers. They called the attention of almost every village or small town. It was obvious they were rich, and some people did even know their family. Leandre was very careful to choose where to stay. He also knew they never should take too long in only one spot, due to the risk of being robbed. There was also a chance of extreme political manoeuvres, forbidden travelers from moving from France to other countries, and he prayed he got to the border before anything like that happened. When he moved Rin’s father and uncle, everything went smoothly, there was no way something could go wrong this time, mainly now, that the future of the family was in his hands.

It was rather dark when they finally made it to the first stop. The host had a dinner prepared only for them, and they ate it animals, apart from Rin, that forced herself into eating only not to lose her strength. Going somewhere against her will was very difficult for her to accept. Not taking anymore Rin’s lack of reaction, Salome decided to provoke her, as well as try to cheer her up.

“Rin, c’mon, what’s that all about? You barely said anything until now. Do you have a fever, perhaps?”

“No. I am unhappy. That’s all. I don’t want to marry a man I feel nothing for”, she replied, lacking the energy to speak.

“You won’t know how you feel until you meet him, silly girl! If I can make you any happier, I hope you get to stay with the one that’s more handsome”, Salome winked at Rin, expecting a smile. Rin smirked only.

“Is there anything else you can talk about? I am tired of this marriage thing!”, protested Rainier.

“You are right. Enough of that”, Rin sided with him, to Salome’s disgust. “I wonder if I like men at all, cousin”.

Salome opened her eyes wide, shocked. “Don’t say that out loud!”, she scream-whispered.

Throughout the night, the clouds that covered the sky during the day thickened, and it started to rain. A few hours before dawn, the weather got even crazier, as lightning bolts came down and tore trees apart, with the help of the wind. Rin, Salome, and Rainier were well protected in the town where they were staying, but the _cocher_ Leandre found out, as soon as he woke up, that the road he was planning on using was blocked by rocks and fallen trunks of trees. A true shame. He would never make it to the next stop if he tried forcing his way on that path. The alternative was using the trail in a forest where the wind didn’t blow as strong, but it would add some hours to the travel and it was easy to get lost in that place. The forest was also known to be the home of gypsies, and there was always some story or rumour involving them as cold-blooded killers, thieves, and practicers of witchcraft. Honest as he was, Leandre told the passengers the challenges they would face on that second day, so they had to keep their eyes open all the time, to help him out, in a case of danger.

While Salome and Rainier were feeling apprehensive with such news, Rin was feeling oddly better. She decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and help Leandre in anything he needed. Deep inside, she hoped the travel was canceled, due to poor weather conditions, so she could return home. She was already missing all those smells from the farm, and the sounds that naturally made her have a sense of time, during the whole day. She always knew what hour it was, judging the light and the sounds. The wet grounds in the forest where the carriage was being taken reminded her a bit of her home, but Salome simply hated the smell of mud after it rained, and she kept complaining about it, for more than an hour. The slippery terrain was starting to affect the horses, and then it rained again. Leandre cursed. The car began to lose the balance, but there was nothing to be done. If they tried to open the door, the wheels of the vehicle could run over them and kill them.

Leandre tried whipping the horses harder, trying to get away from the unstable soil. Even though, after all, the efforts the animals made, the rain got thicker, and the ground, before solid, got softer with humidity, but the excess of water made start to liquefy. Soon the carriage was starting to sink in the mud, just like quicksand. Both horses were sinking too, neighing and trying their best to get out, but their desperate movements only made them drown faster.  The carriage turned sidewards, and the mud was entering inside the window from below, while the rain water didn’t stop coming from above. Rin tried to open the car door, but it was stuck. Salome and Rainier screaming their lungs out. Leandre first reaction was to free the horses, so their moving decreased the speed of sinking.  One of them was already buried in earth, but he managed to pull the other one off. The animal didn’t run away, it stood with Leandre. With the only hope he still had, he tied the horse to the carriage door, to force it open, and pulled it with the aid of the equine’s strength that was still left.

Leandre alone could never make it to save his three precious passengers. Rin was already numb from emotions accepting the fact that she was going to die, with her cousins, in such miserable situation. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but her father’s, she jumped the conclusion. If he didn’t rush the travel, that would have never happened. Salome and Rainier were completely drained of energy, trying to fight against the depth of the mud. When everyone thought all was lost, several men emerged from the woods and rushed to save Rin and her cousins. Inside the car, she had no idea who was out there, but she could hear them.

The people who appeared to aid Leandre had darker skin and hair, spoke some gibberish to each other, and their clothing was of poor quality, with nonmatching patterns sewed one with another, very colourful. Gypsies. The five, maybe six of them, were pretty much the same, but one. The strongest of the group was ethnically more different than all white men, or black men, he had ever seen. This male figure was tall, large, and strong. His skin was pale like of a corpse and covered with tattoos on his arms, legs, and also his face. On his body members, there were several purple-ish stripes and lines, as if they were birthmarks. Two more purple stripes across each cheek and a blue crescent moon on the middle of his forehead. In addition, he had a very long and straight silver hair. Leandre was sure that was a wizard or a sorcerer before him. He never thought that the stories he heard since he was little were actually true. But that was what he thought he was witnessing.

The exceptional gypsy man was the only one strong enough to rip the door of the carriage, making possible to save who was inside. Rin was already succumbing to the forces of nature when a big firm hand grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the liquefied earth. She could barely keep her eyes open, but when she did, she met those serious and focused golden orbits of his. It struck Rin deep inside her soul.  She was his first saved victim, but he was too busy to ask if she was fine. Leandre held her and thanked God, praying that the others were saved too. The strange man adventured more inside the vehicle and pulled Salome out. She was conscious too and cried when she hugged Rin. The carried was nearly submerged when the silver-haired gypsy made it out, carrying Rainier in his arms. He wasn’t breathing.

Salome, even though she was weak, remembered what she had to do, as she took swimming lessons when she was younger. Rainier was put down, and she got him while saying out loud:

“If he drowned, I have to roll him to the side. It will make his body spell the mud and water”, she moved him, as she spoke, losing herself in tears. “It has to work. C’mon little brother, come back to me, please”.

After all hope was lost, the twelve-year-old coughed and expelled everything that was inside his system, preventing him from breathing. The Gypsies applauded, but not the exquisite one. He looked neutral about it. He didn’t smile, neither showed any relief. He acted as if he only did his job. Rin, who couldn’t take her eyes off of him, couldn’t figure out was wrong with him and his mysterious way of being. Beneath the silver hair, he hid two pointy ears. His yellow eyes also didn’t leave hers, that were  brown like cinnamon. She wanted to thank him but was too shook to do so, and she knew he would have something to tell her too, but he preferred only to stare at her. That extraordinarily different man… He was like a dream… He couldn’t be real… Rin had no idea why, but the sight of him gave her a headache, and she trembled worse than when she was inside the carriage, fearing for her life.

_Who is he?_

_A gypsy man, who is a sorcerer?_

_If that’s what he is, he made it. He put a spell on me, or even a curse, by the very first time he touched me._

_This man, with the moon printed on his forehead…_

_He didn’t save me. He pushed me deeper, and I don’t know how this mental weight upon me is harder to bear than the rain and earth that tried to swallow me, like just a moment ago. It was a warning. The forces of nature were trying to keep me from meeting this man, by killing me, before his eyes committed the murder. The murder of my consciousness. The real Rin was awakened. The woman Rin. The one that has desire._

Rin was fine, after all. There was no sinister magic involved. She had only  gone through the experience of falling in love at first sight.

**Author's Note:**

> It would really help me to go one if you commented.  
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
